47% of adults couldn't last a day without smartphone, survey says

Jun. 30, 2014
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Cellphone / Francisco Seco, AP

by Jessica Durando, USA TODAY Network

by Jessica Durando, USA TODAY Network

A day without your cellphone is like a day without sunshine? It may be worse than that, according to a consumer survey released Monday.

Nearly half of U.S. adults -- or 47% -- said they wouldn't last a full 24 hours without their smartphone, a survey by Bank of America found.

Smartphones fall below only the Internet and hygiene when ranked by level of importance to people's daily lives, according to the survey. Ninety-one percent said their phone is as important as their car and deodorant.

Perhaps more concerning is that most Millennials deem mobile phones more important than deodorant and a toothbrush, the survey says.

So, what happens when you forget your beloved digital companion? USA TODAY Network reported last month that three in 10 people would go back home, no matter the distance, if they forgot their mobile device.

Twenty-eight percent said they would go back if it took 10 minutes or less, according to the survey by the Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California-Annenberg and Bovitz Inc.